Why are people so afraid of psychopaths?

I think there are two main reasons. The first one is irrational. Films and literature tend to portray psychopathy as being a deluded and inherently violent condition.

The second reason is that a person who does not feel remorse or empathy could do a great deal of damage if they wanted to. I think there is a logic to this. I would personally avoid making generalisations, though.

I'd be very interested to know what percentage of psychopaths hurt people compared with how many neurotypical people hurt others for emotional reasons. I've been on the receiving end of emotional abuse from someone who lacked empathy, but I do not feel fear of this trait. I just avoid people who behave manipulatively.

The most terrified I have ever been of a person was when a schizophrenic man directed a truck to drive on, just as I was crossing the road. This guy was directing traffic in Kings Cross for reasons that seemed to make sense to him. He was extremely pissed off that I wasn't hit by the truck and that is when I realised he was specifically trying to kill me. I'd never seen him before.

This being said, my daughter's friend and her mother are schizophrenic and I'm not afraid of either one of them.

I'm not afraid of the one psychopathic friend I have, but I am sure there are psychopaths out there I would not want to know and who would scare me.

Lack of understanding and the fact that the main voices out there teaching them about us are either the websites like psychopath free, or love fraud, or they read something of Hare's work and think he knows how to tie his own shoes, let alone anything about psychopaths.

Hare interviewed criminals. That's it and that's all. He however didn't keep his remarks to just being about criminals, but all psychopaths. He painted us with such a broad stroke and added to that fire are these sites that people find when a breakup doesn't go their way. They confuse narcissism with psychopathy, assume it's the same thing, and collect their pitchforks and torches. It's a tiresome play that we watch all too often.

Neurotypicals worry that everyone lacking empathy is out to get them, but then again as I found out recently, it is also a known fear for many of them to look out the window at night because there may be a face will be looking back at them. So, the fact that they have likely encountered at least one of us int heir lifetime and nothing happened does nothing to erase the fear that we are hanging around outside their house. Who has time for that I wonder?

What it comes down to is that we haven't guilt or empathy which makes it easy for us to act how we please. Not going further into understanding the condition as a whole instead of reading erroneous abbreviated versions of it is more attractive to them than to seek us out and ask us what we are like.

Can we be monsters? Sure. I can be. I admit that entirely. Am I always a monster? Nope. I have other stuff to do than terrorize the neurotypical villagers.

First reason is hollywood stereotypes. When you hear the word psychopath, people like hannibal lecter comes to mind. This is all because of hollywood has potrayed psychopaths in a bad light and not realistic. So people think that we are highly intelligent, cunning and are cannibals.

The second reason is horribly informed sites like love fraud. Someone is curious about what a psychopath is. So they go and search it up, only to find these sites that warns people of terrible psychopath plaque and that you will be forever terrorized by us. So again, we are feared and people become certain that we are everywhere.

The last reason is because we are different. From what we can learn from racism is that people hate different. So just because we have a different brain variant that prevents us from feeling things like guilt or not having emotional empathy, we must be responsible for all murders and rapings in the world. This protective bubble is so that neurotypicals can sleep at night knowing that they cannot commit such crimes because of their precious empathy.

In other words these people have no ability to empathize with other people, or feel love the way other people do. They are emotionally dissociated from other people and would not feel bad about another person's pain.

They are sometimes discovered as children, signs including mutilating animals and bullying or hurting other kids. but some psychopaths channel these curious urges through socially acceptable activities like hunting.

They are attracted to positions of power and their life motivation and need is control over other people. According to Dutton, the ten careers that have the highest proportion of psychopaths are:

CEO

Lawyer

Media (TV/radio)

Salesperson

Surgeon

Journalist

Police officer

Clergy

Chef

Civil servant

So with them having no remorse and being in positions of power whether within the boundaries of law or as criminals, they are the worst kinds of people and are generally feared

Many reasons. The way they have been labeled in society for over 50 years. T.V shows such as criminal minds. And most recently the stories of their victims and what the are really capable of.

People should be afraid of psychopaths because they are capable of anything. They can totally destroy you. Cause you to lose everything you have including everyone you love. And their is no stopping them once their mind is made up and their will be no revenge on your part. You can't make someone who doesn't care about anything pay for the suffering they have caused you.

They are predators and we are their prey. And once you become their prey your life as you once knew it will seem like a long ago dream and nothing in your life including yourself will ever be the same.

People should be afraid of them because they are capable of anything.

Maybe because hundreds of famous criminals were psychopaths? Maybe because they're completely heartless and enjoy making people suffer? Maybe because lying is a sport to them and they get a thrill out of manipulating people? Maybe because they believe they are above the law, and beyond moral or ethical restraints? Maybe because they are hostile, vengeful, cunning, petty, envious and nasty? Maybe because they will have unprotected sex with hundreds of people all the while knowing they have AIDS?

I don't know what will happen to me, but my father got worse with age.My mother told me that when he was young, he perfectly knew how to manipulate people, he played the victim when the situation required it, he was kind of violent with those who pissed him off,

I agree that you must read How to Win Friends and Influence People, but I find that the best way to get people to trust you is to LISTEN to them. Really listen. Find a way to be interested in them and what they have to say about themselves. They

Possibly disastrous. Many of the homeless have Schizophrenia because they refuse to take medications. Many CHOOSE to be homeless for an amity. Most are extremely paranoid, especially anything to do with authority.( Government or Police) There is a difference between Psychopaths. They may be outgoing, friendly, intelligent and often charming. Psychopaths often fall into the serial killer